Hamantaschen
and Shapeable Cookie Dough

This cookie dough hamantaschen
is complements of Phyllis, a family friend and favorite Sunday School teacher
of our youngest daughter. Modification to
make the recipe gluten free by Hallie. Think of this as a filled, soft sugar
cookie. This makes a big recipe that could be divided by three for a smaller
quantity of cookies.

But, don't stop there!
Younger kids can join the fun by making hand-rolled cookies and thumbprint
cookies. You can also make dessert empanadas (baked) and something quite
passable for jelly-nut kindel (cookie rolled like a strudel).

Second from left: thumbprint
cookie cut in half, behind it is the whole cookie - roll a ball, put it
on parchment paper on a cookie sheet, press
hole in center, fill with thick preserves.

Third from left: kindel-roll
-roll a long oval, put currants down the center, cover with glops of preserve,
sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, roll up, seal
ends by pinching, seal seam by gently pressing, and place on parchment paper.

Third from right: honey-nut filled
empanada - pinch-off dough and roll into a ball, flatten with a rolling
pin in to a circle, place cut-up nuts
from the center almost to the edge and leaving the other half of dough empty.
Drizzle honey over the nuts, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar (if you like),
fold the empty half-circle over the nuts and honey, seal the edges well,
and place on parchment paper. Now with the point of a sharp knife cut three
vents into the top as shown.

Second from the right: maple-glazed
cookie: pinch off dough, roll into a ball, place on cookie sheet, and bake.
Meanwhile, in a non-stick sauce
pan, gently heat maple syrup. As soon as the cookie is baked and while it
is still hot, gently place cookies into the simmering maple syrup. Stir with
a non-stick spoon for 3 - 5 minutes. Place a cooling rack over a plate and
place hot cookie balls on the cooling rack. The plate will catch the drips.
Cookies will be yummy-sticky.

Right: Something like a snicker doodle: pinch off dough and roll into a
ball. Hand-flatten to desired thickness. Place on parchment paper, Sprinkle
liberally with cinnamon sugar. Note: this cookie would benefit from nuts
on the inside.
.

This recipe makes a lot of dough and can be cut in half.

1/2 Recipe

Full Recipe

Ingredient in Recipe

1/2 Cup

1 Cup

Sugar

2 Tablespoons + 2 teaspoons

1/3 Cup

Lite olive oil or your favorite oil

2 Tablespoons + 2 teaspoons

1/3 Cup

Soft margarine. Our favorite is Canola Harvest vegan sticks

1 egg + 2 Tablespoons beaten

3

Eggs

1/4 Cup

1/2 cup

Orange juice

2 cups divided

4 cups divided

Gluten free flour blend (see below)

2-1/4 tesapoons

4-1/2 teaspoons

Baking powder

1/2 teaspoon

1 teaspoon

Xanthan gum

1/2 teaspoon

1 teaspoon

Guar gum or xanthan gum if you do not have guar gum

Dough

Into the workbowl of a stand mixer, add until blended: Sugar, oil soft margarine

If making a full recipe, form 4 balls of dough and wrap in plastic wrap. If making 1/2 recipe, form two balls of dough.

Refrigerate six hours or overnight

Flour
a work surface lightly. Dip hands into flour and pinch off dough to roll
into a ball about the size as a
walnut.

Using as little extra flour as possible, use
a wooden rolling pin to roll out dough ball into a circle, approximately
1/8 - 3/16 inch (3 - 4 mm) in thickness.

Put
approximately 1 teaspoon of filling (see below) in a heap in the center
of the circle and using two hands, pinch
the edges together to make Haman's three-cornered hat - see picture above.
You may want to lightly dampen the seams with water
where
you press the dough together. The Hamantaschen in the picture were not
dampened. There was a minimum amount of flour on the filling side.

Place
on parchment paper and bake at 350° F
for 12 -15 minutes or until edges are slightly brown. The goal is a soft cookie, not one that shatters
or crumbles.

Note on the flour blend: Hallie used 1 cup of the bread flour
in Bread
Experiment-7, 2 cups of Carol Fenster's sorghum-corn mix and 1 cup
of Bette Hagman's Four flour bean mix. You can use your favorite flour.
Rice-based flour mixes will result in a harder cookie.

Fillings

You
can fill the hamantaschen with any filling you like. The cookies in
the picture were filled with canned Solo Poppy
Seed filling which is very good. Below is a recipe for Honey Nut Filling.
You can also fill with strawberry, blackberry or any other preserves
with or without chopped nuts. Some people like prune filling - not in
our house!